


Just Listen

by thecarlonethatalsowrites



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Declarations Of Love, F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Pining, Sharing a Bed, all those good tropes that come with fake dating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:07:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26097613
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thecarlonethatalsowrites/pseuds/thecarlonethatalsowrites
Summary: “Actually, I do have one extra one because of a free dinner opportunity,” Blake said. Yang’s eyes widened, silently prompting her to continue. “The Pre-Law department is hosting a meet and greet Saturday evening. They promised us all dinner as a bribe.”“That sounds pretty good,” Yang said, turning the thought over in her mind. “Do I have to pledge myself to Pre-Law to show up or something? I will for food if you’re wondering.”Blake dropped her gaze and dragged her fork through her ravioli. “Uh, you can just come as my plus one, if you want. I wasn’t going to go in the first place, but you need to eat so I’ll suck it up.”
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long
Comments: 19
Kudos: 226





	Just Listen

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TophsLegacy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TophsLegacy/gifts).



> Happy birthday to the wonderful and amazing Tophslegacy! You are an amazingly talented writer and an incredible friend. Hope you enjoy this monster of a one-shot, you deserve a hundred of them!

The skies were gray and the wind was howling at Beacon University, and anyone who had to brave the unseasonably cold weather did so with their heads down and hands stuffed in their pockets. They rushed to and from class, braving the cold only for as long as was necessary. Only one person appeared not to be bothered by it, her anger more than enough to keep her warm.

“And the worst part was he asked us about fucking Kafka! We spent maybe twenty minutes covering  _ Metamorphosis  _ in class and nearly a third of the exam hinged on us having a deeper understanding of some weird bug metaphor.” Blake’s cat ears twitched in agitation as she ranted. Their fellow students gave them a wide berth on the sidewalk, fearing to be caught in the radius of Blake’s fury. As the only one who dared to get close, Yang was already a victim of her wildly gesturing hands more than once.

“That’s so dumb,” she said instead of complaining. Not that she had anything to complain about. She was filled with too much righteous fury on Blake’s behalf to be bothered. “It’s like this professor is trying to fail you guys.”

“He’s such a dick. I’m never taking him again if I can help it. And his TA is next to useless. He’s almost as awful,” Blake grumbled, tucking her chin deeper into her scarf, clouds of her breath still billowing out in front of her. Yang hummed in sympathy, stepping forward to hold open the door of their destination. The metal handle was freezing and she quickly planted her foot to keep the door open so she didn’t get frostbite.

“At least you know now and won’t have to take him for an actually difficult class,” Yang said, following Blake into the dining hall. Her entire body loosened as they stepped into the heated building, no longer having to brace against the cold. She kept her bare hands shoved deep into the pockets of her leather jacket, regretting that she forgot her gloves.

Blake sighed and started to unwind her scarf so Yang could hear her over the racket inside the dining hall. They joined the line snaking through the tables to get their food. “That’s true. As soon as it’s over, I’m putting him out of my mind for good.”

“That’s the spirit! Don’t let yourself hold a grudge.”

“Oh, I’m going to hold a grudge. Especially if I get a crap grade in his class.” Yang grinned fondly at Blake’s fierce determination. Though they only met a few months ago at the beginning of the school year, Blake quickly rose to the top of her list of favorite people. Her dry humor often had Yang doubling over with laughter, and Yang truly admired her passion for her studies. She took her freshman year classes as seriously as though they were a senior thesis. She had such a firm idea of what she wanted to do with her life, and Yang could listen to her talk about it all day long, hoping some of that drive would rub off on her.

“If you do, I'll help you break into his office and cover it with silly string,” Yang said, grabbing a tray. Her grin widened when Blake chuckled as she imagined the sight.

“I’ll hold you to that,” she said. “How are your classes going?” 

“I think technically I have a paper due tonight?” Yang said, screwing up her face as she tried to remember. “Or is it tomorrow?” Blake raised an eyebrow at her as they moved through the line.

“Have you started it?” Yang was grateful her cheeks were still red from the cold. It hid her blush.

“It’s only seven pages. That’s an easy all-nighter,” she said. Blake rolled her eyes.

“You’re such a disaster.” Yang didn’t miss the hint of fondness in her voice. It was hard to detect, but they’d spent so much time together Yang picked it up easily.

“And yet you’re still friends with me. Interesting.”

“Wow, I hate you.” There was no real venom in Blake’s voice, most of her attention on scanning her student id to pay for her meal. Yang was too busy pulling out her own to respond immediately.

“Your words don’t hurt me, because I know how you really feel,” she said once she scanned her id. She dropped it on her tray and followed after Blake. 

“Wait, before you go!” The boy working the register called out to her. “Just letting you know that was your last meal for the week.” Yang froze mid stride, brow furrowing. That couldn’t be right. It was only Thursday afternoon. She should have enough left for the evening and the next two days. 

“Of course you ran out,” Blake said, having overheard the exchange. Yang was too busy doing mental math, trying to recall her week.

“It’s those damn coffee combos at the cafe,” she groaned, “they’re too enticing. How am I supposed to resist?”

“Some people have self-control,” Blake said pointedly, sitting down at an empty table that wasn’t left too disgusting. She picked up her fork, twisting it between her fingers as she waited for Yang to flop into the seat across from her.

“I guess it’s going to be microwave popcorn and mac and cheese for the next two days,” she said, staring miserably at the tray in front of her. Those combos didn’t seem like such a good deal in hindsight.

“That’s really depressing. I’m not going to let you do that,” Blake said. Yang looked up, taking in the sympathy in her eyes under eyebrows pulled down in concentration. It was touching she cared so much.

“I know you don’t have any extra meals. It’s ok. I just need to be more careful in the future,” Yang said, poking Blake in the arm to try to lighten her mood. It really wasn’t that big a deal. Not big enough for Blake to lose a meal over it.

“Actually, I do have one extra one because of a free dinner opportunity,” Blake said. Yang’s eyes widened, silently prompting her to continue. “The Pre-Law department is hosting a meet and greet Saturday evening. They promised us all dinner as a bribe.”

“That sounds pretty good,” Yang said, turning the thought over in her mind. “Do I have to pledge myself to Pre-Law to show up or something? I will for food if you’re wondering.” 

Blake dropped her gaze and dragged her fork through her ravioli. “Uh, you can just come as my plus one, if you want. I wasn’t going to go in the first place, but you need to eat so I’ll suck it up.”

“What do you mean you weren’t going to go?!” Yang cried, ignoring the way her nerves tingled because of Blake’s offer. “It’s going to be a great chance to get to know some other people and suck up to professors. I thought you loved that stuff.”

“I like classwork,” Blake muttered, her ears folding back. “I hate that schmoozing shit. Why should popularity determine who succeeds? Besides, I’m terrible at it.”

Yang leaned back in her chair, bewilderment crashing over her. Sure, Blake didn’t have the most open personality, but surely her passion for her studies gave her an in with the others in her major. 

“Well, since you’re literally going to be the reason I eat, I’ll help you make some contacts. I’ve been told I’m excellent at schmoozing,” Yang said, throwing back her shoulders with the brag. Blake ducked her head, laughing into her hand. 

Yang sat up a little taller, grinning from ear to ear. Filling the role of a social crutch would be just fine for her if it meant Blake actually got something out of this event. Yang hadn’t known her for long, but she could already tell she was too brilliant to let an opportunity like this pass her by. And if Yang got something out of it too, well that was just fine with her.

* * *

Yang waited under a streetlight near the river that cut through the east side of campus, her scroll in hand. Leaning against the railing, she alternated between staring at the screen and scanning the walkway for any sign of her. Blake texted her a few minutes ago that she was leaving her dorm, right around the time Yang was. She still beat her there and was starting to get worried when she saw a flash of movement to her left. She turned, automatic grin dropping with her jaw as she fully absorbed what Blake was wearing.

“You...wow!” She said, shoving her scroll into the pocket of her jacket if only to busy herself for just a moment. “You look great!”

“It’s not too much, is it?” Blake asked. Yang let her eyes trail over her outfit appreciatively. Blake killed it in her mauve blazer with three-quarter sleeves over matching slack and a sleeveless cream button-down. She had a few inches of extra height from her black ankle boot heels, making her nearly as tall as Yang. 

“It’s perfect. I’d want you on my side in a courtroom,” Yang said, giving her two thumbs up. On the inside, she was finding it difficult to string the words together. She nearly forgot her main motivation for attending was the food, too caught up in how stunning Blake looked.

“Thanks.” It was hard to see in the yellow light of the streetlamp, but Yang thought there may have been a faint tint of red on Blake’s cheeks. “You look like being with you won’t embarrass me on sight.”

“Aw, really? That’s all I’m going to get? This is my nicest and only blouse.” Yang pinched the front of her light green shirt, untucking it a little from her dark skinny jeans. “Looks like I’ll have to up my game to impress you.”

“It’s alright. You impress me in other ways,” Blake said. She jerked her head toward the student services building. “Ready to go?”

“Sure!” Yang offered her arm, which Blake took as they headed for the building. She ignored the sudden thrill in her chest as they fell into perfect step with one another. “What angle do you want me to play? Adoring classmate? Trophy girlfriend?”

“Hm, let’s see if we can get you in the door without lying before we commit to anything,” Blake said. Her grip tightened on Yang’s arm.

“The first one at least is true,” Yang said, giving her the common decency to pretend not to notice.

They stepped through the doors up to a boy who looked to be a little older than them standing near a table. Blake let out a groan when she saw him, but it was too late to turn around.

“Welcome! Are you two here for the Pre-Law meet and greet? I’ll need to see your student ids to let you in,” he said. Yang fished hers out of her pocket and handed it over. The boy gave hers a glance, but he seemed much more interested in Blake’s. “Blake Belladonna! My night just got a whole lot better. I thought I recognized you. You’re in one of my classes.”

“You’re the TA for Port’s class, right?” Blake asked through gritted teeth. She sounded like she already knew the answer. Yang frowned as the TA scanned both their ids.

“Yeah. I’m glad to see you showed up. I must have gotten through to you, huh?” He nudged her with his elbow. 

Blake bristled, though the TA didn’t appear to notice. Yang picked up on it, and her opinion of the TA immediately plummeted. She squeezed Blake’s arm, doing her best to convey her support through the gesture.

Unfortunately, the TA kept talking. “You can go right in. You, though,” he turned to Yang, “aren’t committed to any pre-law majors. I’m afraid I can’t let you in.” Yang gaped at the smug grin on his face as he turned her away. Who did this idiot think he was? Just because they gave him a scanner and a door job didn’t mean he was a god.

“She’s my plus one, actually,” Blake said, clinging tighter to Yang’s arm. The TA’s eyebrows rose. Yang could practically see the gears turning in his little pea brain.

“Uh, I guess they did say you could bring someone along. Just don’t make any trouble,” he said, caught red-handed trying to throw his weight around and now trying to backpedal. He cleared his throat and before he even opened his mouth Yang knew she wouldn’t like what he was about to say. “I won’t be on door duty all night, maybe I can catch up with you later, Blake. It would be nice to get to know you a little better outside of class.”

Yang couldn’t help staring at Blake incredulously. Blake met her gaze out of the corner of her eye, and at that moment Yang knew exactly who this guy was and why Blake hated him. Fighting the urge to punch him in the face, she let go of Blake’s arm to wrap around her waist instead.

“Dude, quit hitting on my girlfriend and just do your job,” she said, using a tone that invited no argument.

“We’ll take back our ids,” Blake said in an equally icy voice. Her hand moved to cover Yang’s where it rested on her hip, and Yang fought the urge to let their fingers tangle together. That might be going a little too far. After all, they were only faking.

They brushed past the TA, following the posted signs guiding the way to the event. Yang could barely hold it together until they were far enough away he lost track of them. Her arm fell from Blake’s waist as she bent over double with laughter. After a moment, Blake started laughing too.

“Oh, man now I understand why you hate that class so much,” Yang said, gasping for breath and wiping tears out of her eyes. “That guy just did not know when to quit.”

“You have no idea. He’s been like that since the beginning of the year. It felt nice to finally be able to stick it to him,” Blake said. “Maybe he’ll stop being such a predatory creep and start leaving freshman girls alone.”

“It’s ok babe. If he tries anything again, I’ll just have to fight him.” Yang cracked her knuckles to give emphasis to her words. It was hard while she struggled to keep a straight face. Blake choked back another round of giggles.

“That escalated quickly,” she said, giving Yang a pointed look.

Yang’s shoulders slumped, the weight of what they just did crashing down on her. “Was it too much? We can still take it back. Only one jerkface knows.” Blake tapped her chin, lost in thought for a moment. Yang’s chest constricted the longer the silence stretched.

“It might be nice having an automatic excuse to turn people down,” she finally said. 

“You act like you have them lining down the block,” Yang said, letting out the breath she’d been holding. Inhaling made her feel like there were daggers in her lungs.

Blake shrugged. “I’m just not interested in actually dating anyone right now and that seems to baffle some people. They don’t always respect it, especially when I don’t want to explain my reasoning.” A shadow crossed over her face and Yang’s heart immediately panged with sympathy.

She’d seen traces of it before whenever the topic of relationships came up. Blake tended to shut down, fade into the background. They hadn’t known each other for long, but Yang definitely took notice. She wasn’t about to pry, they hadn’t known each other for quite long enough for that. But it didn’t take long for her to know she’d be there as a steadying force if Blake wanted her as one. 

“I get it. I’m not really built for relationships either,” Yang said softly. “Just let me know if I have to fight anyone else.” She reached out to take Blake’s hand, hoping to add some seriousness to the conversation. Blake squeezed back ever so slightly. It was enough acknowledgment to set Yang at ease.

“Thanks. I might take you up on that, depending on how tonight goes,” Blake said. 

“So you  _ do _ have suitors lining the block,” Yang said, eyes going wide. Blake rolled hers.

“Let’s just focus on why we’re here and find the buffet.” She dropped Yang’s hand and made her way into the main event. Trying not to feel the loss too keenly, Yang followed.

* * *

Yang was walking home from class on one of the last nice days of fall when her scroll buzzed in her pocket with an incoming text. Normally she would ignore it and enjoy her walk, but it was Blake’s unique text tone. Her hand automatically went to her pocket.

_ I’m about to gouge my eyes out _

The message made her snort with laughter. Anyone who thought Blake was emotionless clearly hadn’t gotten to know her well enough to learn about her penchant for being dramatic. She typed out a response, knowing exactly what Blake was requesting.

_ I’ll bring you a pick me up in five _

Yang altered her course to swing past the cafe on campus. After the fiasco of her freshman year, she learned a hard lesson on restraint, but everything was in moderation. The cafe was only a block out of her way, and it had amazing drinks. With the nice weather, she didn’t mind adding a few minutes to her walk home. 

The electronic chime went off as she opened the door, relief washing over her when she saw there was only one other person in line. Though she’d known Blake for over a year now, she wasn’t sure if Blake would actually carry through with her threat if Yang didn’t hold up her end of the deal. She probably wouldn’t, but it was always better to be safe than sorry.

“Hey, your usual?” The barista asked when Yang stepped up to the counter. She was already grabbing two medium cups from the stack.

“Guess I’ve gotten predictable,” Yang joked.

“Well, you didn’t bring your girlfriend along today, so that’s something different.” The coffee machine roared to life and distracted the barista before Yang could respond. 

It was perfect timing, as Yang’s smile froze on her face. She couldn’t have responded to that even if she wanted to. Her mind worked overtime, trying to figure out how their act got out to this random barista. Sure, she and Blake came here a lot, but Yang couldn't remember a time where it helped them to bring up their arrangement.

Still in a daze but doing her best to cover it, Yang paid and collected their coffee. She dumped her change in the tip jar, waved to the barista, then left to the chime of the bell at the door.

It was a short walk back to her dorm from the cafe, and Yang spent it sipping nervously on her drink. Living on the edge of campus meant it was a bitch to get to class, but there was good coffee over here and the dorms weren’t all right on top of each other. And she got to live with Blake. There had been no question when it came time to sign up for housing at the end of last year. They already spent most of their waking hours together and neither wanted the hassle of getting to know a new roommate. Their suitemates were noisy and annoying, but that could be ignored through commiseration with each other.

Yang kicked the door when she arrived, not even bothering to go for her keys with both hands full of coffee. It opened moments later. Blake stepped aside to let her in, having eyes only for what Yang was carrying.

“What took you so long?” she asked, making an impatient grab for her drink. “I’m dying of a headache and I need caffeine to fix it.”

“We really need to talk about your addiction,” Yang said as Blake snatched it from her hands. “You can’t even wait patiently for me to rush all the way across campus to bring your drug of choice home.”

“Doesn’t that make you an enabler?” Blake asked, giving Yang a pointed look over the rim of her cup.

“Touche.” Yang dumped her bag on her side of the room. Setting her half-empty drink on top of her dresser, she clambered up into her bunk. “We might have to wean you off that stuff, though. I almost blew our cover to the barista just now.”

“Really? What happened?” Blake asked, shutting the door.

“She asked where my girlfriend was and I froze. I played it off, though I definitely looked like a total idiot for a second there. I’m still not even sure how she knew. It’s not like we broadcast ourselves at the shop.” Yang rolled onto her side to face Blake as she spoke. Blake had a strange expression on her face, as though she was trying to remember as well.

“She must have remembered us from Valentine’s Day when we pretended to be together to get that two for one couple’s discount,” she said, clicking her fingers when it came back to her. Yang immediately recalled it as soon as she mentioned it.

“Damn, she must have been really paying attention to recognize me all the way in October,” Yang said.

“We do go there all the time,” Blake pointed out. “I’m not that surprised.”

“I think we need to start making a list of all the random people we’ve conned,” Yang said. “I'm beginning to lose track.”

“Hm, maybe,” Blake said, finally settling down at her desk that was covered in open books.

Their ruse hadn’t died after that day almost a year ago when they first pretended to be a couple. At first they’d been cautious about who they tricked, terrified to be caught in a lie. But over time, they were together so much anyway it was almost too easy to continue pretending to be more than friends to more and more people. Yang admitted they perhaps abused it a little, such as with the Valentine’s deal, but it wasn’t like they were hurting anybody. And it only got easier to act like a couple as time went on, aside from the small drawback she had today.

“I can’t believe I have to ask this after pretending for nearly a full year and moving in together, but does this mean we’re fake going steady?” Yang asked teasingly before Blake could get too absorbed in her work again.

“If it took this long for you to ask, I fear for the state of our fake love life,” Blake said. “You’re going to have to do something extra special to make it up to me.”

“Like bring you caffeine every Tuesday and Thursday? I’d say that shows some commitment.” 

Blake pursed her lips. “Very well. I won’t make you sleep on the couch tonight.”

“We don’t have a couch,” Yang said, scanning the room. Their dorm was barely large enough for a bed, desk, and dresser for each of them, plus all the other necessities they needed to make a dorm room habitable. What was the point of a couch when beds, desk chairs, and the floor would suffice on the very rare occasions they had company? “And it’s going to be a late night anyway.”

“Right. Game night.” Blake nodded. “I’m getting my work done early because I know neither of us will be any shape to be productive tomorrow.”

“At this point, it’s redundant to say, but you are something else, Belladonna,” Yang said.

“It’s why you’re fake dating me.” Blake nodded sagely. “I like these compliments. Keep it up.”

“Uh, your ass looks good in those jeans!”

“And you immediately ruined it,” Blake deadpanned. Yang saw right through her act. The tiny smile on her face would have been invisible to most. For Yang, she broadcast everything.

“You love me anyway. Who else is willing to fight for your honor?”

“Until I find someone else I guess settling for you will have to suffice.”

“Ouch,” Yang placed a hand over her heart, pretending to be wounded. “Well, to avoid your prickliness and to get myself in peak condition for tonight’s bloodbath, I’m going to take a nap. Maybe you’ll be nicer to me once you start missing me again.”

“I’ll be quiet,” Blake said softly, reaching into her desk drawer to pull out earbuds. “And yell at our suitemates if they don’t. Have a nice nap.”

Yang hummed her appreciation, sinking into her pillows and unconsciousness. The scratch of Blake’s pencil lulled her into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Blake woke Yang a few hours later with plenty of time for her to get ready for game night. She’d plugged in Yang’s scroll sometime during her nap, and it was hovering at about three-quarters charge. When Yang saw that, she sighed with relief.

“Have I ever told you that you’re my favorite person?” She asked. Her first thought upon waking had been cursing herself for forgetting to plug it in for a desperately needed charge.

“Even above Ruby?” Blake asked.

“Without question,” Yang said. “She would have just laughed at my suffering.” She stretched up as far as she could, fingers brushing against the ceiling. Her bed was lofted above her desk, a feat that took both her and Blake nearly an hour to put together when they first moved in. It was worth it now, Yang thought as she rolled onto her side to face Blake, who had her arms hooked over the railing and her chin resting on her arms.

“Hi Sleeping Beauty,” Blake said, prompting a thrill to go through Yang’s ribcage. “Have a nice nap?”

“Very. Did you finish your work?” 

Blake shrugged. “Not all, but enough. It’s 7:30, we should get ready.” 

Yang crawled to the ladder, careful not to bump her head as Blake hopped down from balancing on the corner of the desk. She headed to the bathroom to fix her bed head while Blake pulled out a pair of sneakers for her. Game night was an informal event, and she would no doubt be thankful for the stability when it came time to walk home. Blake was already dressed in a loose purple cardigan and black jeans. The weather hadn’t turned cold yet, but they were both bracing for it.

They left for Jaune and Ren’s place just minutes after hearing their suitemates’ door open and a round of greetings from their part of the dorm. Yang rolled her eyes as the ever-present obnoxious dubstep poured out of their speakers. The Thursday game night tradition was a great way to see her friends, but it was also an excuse to get out of the suite before the party started. She was extra grateful for the deadbolt on their door that connected to their shared bathroom after getting a glimpse at the wreck of the other room after one of their parties.

Jaune and Ren lived in a tiny two-bedroom apartment just a block off-campus. It was their usual destination for game night – though it was small, it was bigger than the dorms all the rest of their friends lived in.

“Finally! What took you two so long?” Nora asked, sending furtive glances up and down the street. Blake and Yang were the last to arrive, and the other reason the boys hosted was apparent the moment Nora opened the door. She opened it just a crack so as to hide the plastic wine glass she held in one hand. Only because she was so close could Yang tell what was in it; a drink that was an alarming shade of blue and definitely alcoholic. Nora hadn’t been allowed to have real glass since the very first game night, but she insisted it was classier to drink from a wine glass than a solo cup.

“Yang had to get her beauty sleep,” Blake said. Yang leaned into the teasing.

“You can’t look this good without it,” she said with a wink. She turned sideways to slip past Nora into the apartment. 

“Well, you got here just in time. I’m  _ trying  _ to convince these cowards we should play Monopoly,” Nora said, directing a glare at the group clustered around the low coffee table. They gave a chorus of general greetings before Ren spoke up.

“Absolutely not. That game is banned and you know it.” He glanced purposefully at a fist-sized patch on the wall that was slightly off color from the rest of it in the right lighting. They were lucky Pyrrha really was good at everything, or Jaune and Ren wouldn’t be getting their security deposit back.

“We’ve got it narrowed down to Charades or Quiplash,” Weiss said from where she sat as primly on a beanbag chair as was possible. Yang was suddenly extra glad that Blake charged her scroll for her.

“Let’s do Quiplash first, then Charades. I always love watching Jaune try to drunkenly act out whatever he pulls,” Yang said, anticipating a long night ahead of them.

“Just for that, you don’t get anything,” Jaune said, pausing halfway through making a second drink in the kitchen. It was attached to the den, so his full array of bottles was visible from the door.

While Yang gaped indignantly, Blake walked over to accept the lone drink he made, swirling the much more reasonably colored Jack and Coke in its plastic wine glass. In Blake’s hand, Yang could see Nora’s point about those things making one look classy. She took a sip, a plan forming in the mischievous smirk on her face.

“This isn’t strong enough. Can you make me another?” Blake asked. Jaune rolled his eyes but obeyed with a sigh. Blake waited until he was all but done before holding out the first drink to Yang. “Can’t let this go to waste.”

“Thank you, Blake,” Yang said, accepting it as Blake grabbed the second one. “You’re always looking out for me.”

Jaune scowled at them. “I hate you two.”

“You should have seen that one coming,” Ruby shouted from the floor next to Weiss. Yang frowned when she saw her sister also holding a wine glass of Jack and Coke.

“I know none of this is very legal, Jaune, but do you have to give booze to my sixteen-year-old sister?” Yang asked. Surprisingly enough, Jaune was their plug, and therefore responsible for all their drunken escapades. He claimed he had a fake, but Yang knew she wasn’t alone doubting that. She technically couldn’t stop him from sharing his spoils with whoever he wanted, but she could give him plenty of shit about it for Ruby’s sake.

“Excuse you, I am in college just like the rest of you,” Ruby said indignantly. “Just because I skipped a grade doesn’t mean you get to baby me.” She took a big drink as if to prove her point. The grimace on her face as she swallowed undercut it somewhat.

“Forgive me for at least trying to look out for my sister,” Yang said. She’d let the issue drop for now. Ruby wasn’t a heavy drinker, and Yang wasn’t about to take the fun out of the night for her. She walked over to the empty armchair, ruffling Ruby’s hair on her way past. Ruby spluttered and batted her away, ignoring Weiss’s glare when she fell on top of her feet while trying to get away from Yang.

Yang made herself comfortable in her usual place. The armchair was right next to the couch with Pyrrha sitting closest to her. She gave her a warm smile, offering a glass filled with white wine in cheers. The space next to her was empty, while Ren crammed himself on the far side of the couch with Nora at his feet.

“Going easy tonight?” Yang asked Pyrrha, nodding at her drink.

“Not all of us managed to avoid having Friday classes,” Pyrrha said wistfully. “But I am ready to destroy you all tonight.” Spoken in her soft voice, the words would sound cute to anyone who didn’t know Pyrrha. Yang did know her, and she gulped. They were in for a tough night with Nora already drunk and Pyrrha rearing to go.

“This seat isn’t taken, is it?” Blake asked, the only warning she gave before plopping down all but in Yang’s lap.

“For you always,” Yang said, resting one hand on Blake’s knee to stabilize her. The armchair was technically big enough for two, but it was a tight squeeze. Yang took a sip from her drink to compensate for nearly spilling it when Blake jostled her. “But warn a girl next time, will you?”

Blake’s response was cut off by loud and realistic retching sounds coming from Nora. “Just marry her already! I’m running out of time to win the bet on when you’re going to propose.”

Yang froze as the comment wormed its way into her ear. Her skin was suddenly clammy, her limbs trembled. Sure, almost everyone in this room thought they were dating, but Nora’s comment came from way out in left field. Yang waited to feel Blake stiffen against her. She hated people commenting on her love life. She had to be as on edge as Yang. Instead, Blake threw her head back and laughed.

“You’re going to be waiting a while for that one,” she said, lowering her chin. Her eyes flashed with the thrill of deception. It was part of the reason they kept pretending to be a couple; they both thought it was too much fun to stop.

Rather than explaining their arrangement and possibly letting the truth slip out, Blake and Yang made no effort to hide their fake relationship from their friends. It was easier to let them come to their own conclusions from hearing rumors around campus, though they all came to the same one remarkably fast. There was something weird about how readily they all accepted the lie, but Yang didn’t let herself think too hard about that. It was hardly ever brought up, except for on occasion.

“Ok, I’m done playing bartender. Are we ready to start?” Jaune asked, settling between Ren and Pyrrha.

“Setting up now,” Ren said, controller in hand.

“Weiss, can we be on a team? My scroll is dead,” Nora said, leaning into Weiss’s legs. She was apparently oblivious to the devastation she wrecked on Yang’s psyche.

“Absolutely not. Team up with Ren,” Weiss ordered, leaning as far away from Nora as she could get without falling out of her chair.

Yang let the bickering fade into the background, consumed with the warmth coming off Blake where she was pressed against her. She had her left arm around Yang’s shoulders, pulling up the Quiplash site with that hand. Her scroll was all but in Yang’s face.

“Do you want to team up?” Yang asked quietly under the chaos around them. “I can see your screen anyway.”

“Probably a good idea. I don’t trust you not to cheat,” Blake said, typing in the game code. Yang’s grip on her tightened unconsciously.

“You worry that it wouldn’t be in your favor.” Her mouth was suddenly too dry and she gulped down more of her drink, leaning into the way it burned on the way down. The heat distracted her from doing anything too stupid her friends would never let her live down.

The game started up and Yang whispered conspiratorially with Blake. They weren’t the only team – Ren let Nora take his scroll and watched amusedly as she typed in answers with her tongue peeking out. It gave Yang an idea for revenge.

“Oh, that’s good,” Blake snickered as Yang voiced her thoughts, putting in their final answer. The icons shot to the top of the screen as the others finished up. “You’re a genius.”

“I know,” Yang said, leaning her head against Blake’s so they were temple to temple. Crushed together as they were, it was difficult to tell where her limbs ended and Blake’s began. Especially with the pleasant buzz coursing through her veins.

Yang’s eyes slid shut as she breathed deeply, inhaling the scent of Blake’s shampoo. It lingered in her nostrils, making her head feel light. It was only after a few moments did Yang realize she forgot to breathe out. It was with a feat of effort that she peeled her eyes open and leaned away. 

Her next exhale was shaky as the first round of the game began. She didn’t recognize the prompt, so she gently pushed Blake off her lap.

“I’m getting another drink,” she said.

“Who should I vote for?” Blake pointed at the screen. Yang barely paid attention.

“I trust your judgment.” She rose as Blake hummed in acknowledgment.

The first round was decided as Yang started to pour herself another Jack and Coke. Her hand shook ever so slightly and she ended up with more Jack than she intended. She usually didn’t let Nora’s teasing get to her like this, but tonight was apparently special. Jaune made his drinks very strong and hers was already empty. No wonder she felt so off-kilter. Nevermind that it was only one drink. She’d downed it so fast she was well on the way to tipsy. That was plenty of reason why her chest suddenly felt too tight. Who was she to say if it felt the tightest looking at Blake in the armchair, still squeezed to one side saving a place next to her for Yang?

“You would never go on a roller coaster called ____,” The announcer’s voice shook Yang out of her reverie. Her and Blake’s answer showed up on the screen, inciting a squawk from Nora.

“Alright, whoever wrote “Ren and Nora’s love life” better square up,” she shouted. “Was it you, Ruby? I bet it was you.” Yang chuckled as her sister desperately tried to defend herself. It was nice to get back at Nora for putting her in this funk, however secretly. She felt even better as the near-unanimous votes rolled in.

“Oh, it’s on, Bang,” Nora seethed, referring to the name they used for their team in the game. Yang dove back into the fray to save Blake from having to bear Nora’s wrath alone. The room filled with laughter and Yang embraced it as Blake pulled her back into the armchair.

Nora eventually calmed down as the next round started, focused on getting as many points as possible. At the end of the day, it was all fun and games in this room, no matter how much smack anyone talked. They were a bunch of college kids, tipsy on a Thursday night as they blocked out the rest of the world in favor of what was right before them.

* * *

It was well past midnight by the time Blake and Yang stumbled out of the apartment. As the last to arrive, they stuck around at least for a bit to help clean up. It didn’t last very long. Jaune waved them on their way as Ren settled a snoring Nora on the couch. They were all a little too drunk to worry about the state of the apartment right now.

Yang forced herself to step assuredly as she and Blake made their way back to their dorm. She didn’t want to look like a target, though she drank probably more than was smart for someone who had to walk home.

That wasn’t the only reason it was hard to keep her head on her shoulders rather than up with the stars. Try as she might, she couldn’t stop thinking about Nora’s words, still ringing in her head hours later. She snorted to herself even as the thought consumed her. Like they would ever come to fruition.

“What’s so funny?” Blake asked, nudging Yang with her elbow. She was remarkably steady in heels that put her almost at Yang’s height, long legs eating up the ground with every stride. Yang resisted the urge to shake her head to clear it.

“Nothing. Just thinking about what Nora said.”

“You’re going to have to narrow that down. Nora says a lot of things.” Yang let them pass under a few street lights before answering.

“The joke she made about us getting married.” Blake’s eyebrows shot up, the shadows on her face stretching to accommodate her surprise. She looked incredible, even in this poor lighting.

“That would be the icing on the cake of this whole thing, wouldn’t it?” Blake asked. Her shoulders shook with suppressed laughter, and Yang forced herself to play along.

“The tax and tuition benefits alone would almost be worth it,” she said. To her ears, it sounded stilted.

“Pretending to date someone is already plenty to get people bothering me about my love life off my back. If we got married, I’d never hear another word from my parents about dying alone,” Blake said, her gaze a thousand yards away.

“Plus you’d have me around for the rest of your life to beat off the few assholes that don’t respect the sanctity of marriage,” Yang said, only half-joking. For Blake, that was a reality at one point. A few months into their friendship she confessed all the horrible things her ex put her through. Yang held her as she cried, feeling hatred bubble up in her for a boy she would never meet because of the restraining order. It was an odd sensation, but enough for her to double down on her commitment to Blake. Now that Yang was in her life, she’d rather die than let anyone make Blake feel as powerless as Adam did.

“You’ll need to hold your liquor better if you want any chance at that,” Blake said as Yang dropped her keys while trying to gain them entrance to their building. Yang’s head spun as she bent down to retrieve them, and it took too much mental effort to keep from puking to manage a response. Her second attempt went better, and the pair stumbled down the hall to their room. Blake turned to lock the door, flipping the deadbolt into place behind them.

As her foot missed the first rung on the ladder, Yang cursed herself for lofting it in the first place. She barely had the coordination to change into pajamas at the moment, let alone scramble up into bed.

“If you can’t get up you can stay with me tonight,” Blake said from her much more reasonable bed. Her hand hovered by the lamp at her desk, waiting until Yang was settled before dousing the room in darkness.

Yang grit her teeth. “I got this.” She didn’t drink  _ that _ much tonight. Forcing herself to  _ focus, dammit _ , she ungracefully clambered up. Getting under her blankets seemed like too big an ask after such a victory, so she collapsed on top of them like any self-respecting wasted co-ed. She closed her eyes, hoping to block out the spinning of the room.

“Are you alive?” Blake’s voice pierced her fog.

“I’ll get back to you in the morning,” Yang groaned. “G’night, Blake.”

“Night, Yang.” The light clicked off. Yang heard a brief rustling of blankets before the room fell silent again and she was left with the echoing of her thoughts leftover from their conversation on the walk home.

Their ruse was perfect enough to fool even their closest friends. And neither of them were wrong about the benefits of taking things a step further. Would it really be so bad, spending the rest of her life with her best friend?

Yang rolled over violently, trying to escape those thoughts. They were useless, anyway. Blake was her  _ friend _ , nothing more. Besides, the biggest reason they let the con go this far was that Blake wanted nothing to do with romance. Yang had to respect those wishes above all else. After all, it was a lack of respect that caused Blake’s current opinions in the first place. Yang refused to be anything like Blake’s ex. And it wasn’t like Yang was destined to be a master at interpersonal relationships. A simple look at her family history was enough to make anyone steer far clear from that territory. No, Yang was fine with her friends and patchwork family as they were. She didn’t need anything as trivial as feelings to swoop in complicate that.

* * *

Swinging the refrigerator door in a small arc, Yang deliberated over her scant lunch choices. With finals looming, neither she nor Blake made the time to get to the store. She let out a long breath, weighing the odds of Ruby having any food at her place. They were low – it was a miracle if Ruby remembered to eat two meals a day. She was usually far too caught up in her studies, the same as Blake. Yang always admired that about them, even if she wanted to tear her hair out whenever she saw Blake’s light on at four in the morning or upon crashing into the dishes piled up in Ruby’s room.

Unlike her two favorite people in the world, college didn’t fall into place for Yang until her third year. She’d always been studious, but it hadn’t been her main focus. It turned out to be for her benefit; taking a variety of classes helped her figure out she had a knack for engineering. With Blake’s encouragement, she switched her major from undecided without an ounce of regret. Even with her second round of finals bearing down on her, Yang wouldn’t have it any other way. She studied so much in the past week when she closed her eyes all she saw were formulas. It was a welcome distraction from the usual occupation of her thoughts.

“You’re letting out all the cold air.” Yang flinched and slammed the fridge shut as her thoughts manifested into reality. The jars nestled inside the door rattled around, prompting Blake to give Yang an unamused look. “I hate it when you do that.”

“Well, you haven’t dumped me as a roommate yet,” Yang said, jerking her chin in greeting as Blake stepped through the front door into their apartment’s kitchen. Blake dropped her bag on the counter and grabbed the edge with one hand to keep her balance as she pulled off her shoes. 

“That’s because the lease would be a nightmare to back out of. And you still have other benefits.” She added on her second point like an afterthought.

“What happened to ‘You’re my best friend, Yang. I’ll always need you, Yang’? Were those just pretty lies to rope me into signing a binding agreement with you?” Yang asked, leaning into the good-natured teasing. Letting herself think about their relationship could be borderline painful, but actually being in Blake’s presence was something she wouldn’t give up for the world.

“Of course not. I’ll also always need you to get the hair out of the shower drain.” Blake collapsed onto one of the barstools at the counter, resting her chin in her hand as she grinned at Yang.

“One day you’ll be sorry for all the ways you use me,” Yang sighed.

“Is that day coming anytime soon?” The twinkle in her eyes was too much for Yang. She had to look away.

“You couldn’t get rid of me if you tried,” she said, trying not to let hidden depths seep into her words. “Although, you might starve me out if we don’t make it to the store soon.”

“What do we need?”

“Everything.” Blake groaned, throwing her head back for dramatic effect before pulling herself together.

“I’ll start making a list,” she said, reaching for her scroll. “Is there anything you want me to add?”

_ For you to feel the same way as I do. _ Yang bit her tongue around the words. That might be going too far, even for them. “Just the usual. I’ll text you if I think of anything else.”

“Cool. If you want to go together, the soonest I can manage is tomorrow. Some pre-law people are coming over to study tonight,” Blake said.

“Oh, yeah thanks for reminding me! Tomorrow is fine with me as long as you’re ok with only being able to offer water to your friends when they come over,” Yang said.

“Sun said he’s bringing snacks, so I don’t think we’ll starve,” Blake said. A flare of irrational annoyance rose in Yang’s chest. It had taken her a while to figure out why she felt so upset sometimes when talking about Blake’s friends. So long that Blake’s fleeting crush on Sun came and went before Yang had time to realize it existed. It didn’t mean Yang was over her jealousy.

“I’ll set up my room in the guest mode in case anyone stumbles in there,” Yang said, only halfway meaning to sound petty. Whenever they had company, their standard operating procedure was to tidy Yang’s room to the point where it looked like nothing more than a guest room and move a few key signs of her existence into Blake’s. An extra charger, a few textbooks, Yang’s pillow. They’d gotten keeping up the act down to a science, one that barely took any extra effort. It was a small victory, and a fake one at that, but announcing to the world that Blake was unavailable gave her more joy than it probably should have.

“No one should be snooping, but that’s a good idea,” Blake said. She drummed her fingers against her cheek. “Are you sure you’re fine with them coming over? We can go somewhere else if we’re going to bother you.” Though it was larger than the dorms they lived in last year, their apartment was by no means spacious. Having people over was an all or nothing event.

“Nah, you’re totally fine. I was going over to Ruby’s anyway, so you won’t bother me at all! It’s sweet of you to think of me, though,” Yang said, fighting the blush that threatened to show on her cheeks.

“Of course. I’d pick you over them any day,” Blake said. Her words, spoken so casually, made Yang feel like she was floating ten feet off the ground. It was a struggle to keep breathing evenly. And Blake hardly seemed to notice their effect on her.

“Remember that when their help saves your ass during finals,” Yang croaked.

There were some days where the questions at the back of Yang’s mind were too loud to ignore. She knew faking a relationship with Blake was the closest she’d ever get to the real thing, and on very rare occasions Yang questioned whether it was worth it. But then there were moments like this when Blake slipped up the way Yang had been doing for years now, dropping hints that maybe there  _ was _ something between them. Something more than the friendship they both swore to uphold the sanctity of when this first began. Yang knew she hadn’t been doing a very good job of it. Not since she secretly hoped Blake was doing just as poorly as she was.

“Have fun tonight,” Blake said as Yang made her way out of the kitchen to pick up her room. With her back to Blake, Yang let her face heat up as much as it wanted. She needed a release valve for the burden in her chest.

“Thanks, you too,” she said, all too aware that she was slipping away to set up a lie.

* * *

“Aha! Another win for Jorgoth the Violator,” Ruby cried as her character on the TV stood victoriously over the corpse of Yang’s character.

“I hate the names in this game,” Yang muttered, clenching her fingers to resist the urge to throw her controller at the screen. Or Ruby’s head. Either would suffice to let out her frustration.

“You ok, Yang? You’ve been off all night,” Ruby said, leaning out of her bean bag chair to peer at Yang. Yang’s stomach flipped. Her dilemma wasn’t that obvious today, was it? “I’ve beaten you like every round.”

“In your dreams,” Yang said. “I could beat you with one arm and no eyes, easy.”

“First of all, that’s not true. You need eyes to play video games,” Ruby said, sticking her nose in the air.

“Disparaging the blind now, I see.” Yang clicked her tongue as she shook her head. “I can’t believe I raised such an asshole.”

“Ugh, remember the example you set for me and get off your high horse,” Ruby groaned. “And stop changing the subject.”

“What subject? The subject of you going down?” Yang asked. She hit the buttons on her controller to queue up the next round.

“Yang, seriously.” Ruby kicked one foot up onto the bed and poked Yang’s stomach with her toes. Yang batted her away with one hand, eyes glued to the screen. Ruby redoubled her efforts, raising her foot to poke Yang in the cheek. “I can tell something is bothering you.”

“Yeah, your nasty foot funk in my face.”

“Did you and Blake have a fight or something?” Yang froze, her thumb hovering over the buttons. Sweat gathered on her palms, sticking her skin to the plastic controller.

“What makes you think that?” She asked, unsure if she wanted a response.

“I don’t know. Usually, she’s all you talk about and you haven’t mentioned her at all tonight,” Ruby said. Her eyes widened with a sudden realization. “That’s why you asked to come over so suddenly! She kicked you out, didn’t she? What did you do?”

“Why do you immediately assume that I’m at fault in this fight you’re imagining?” Yang protested.

“Because I grew up with your shenanigans.” Ruby tossed her controller to one side before rising out of her seat to hit the power button on the console. Yang groaned as the screen went dark and she lost her distraction. Ruby spun her chair around so she could face Yang on the bed. “You can trust me. Why are you weird tonight?”

Yang bit her lip, trying to resist her sister’s imploring silver eyes. After a lifetime of doing just that, she should have been better at it by now. She lasted until Ruby jutted out her lower lip, bringing on a full pout. Groaning, Yang rubbed her eyes, if only for the reprieve from Ruby’s puppy dog stare.

“I’m trusting you with this, okay? This doesn’t leave this room,” Yang said. They both knew she was stalling.

“I swear it won’t,” Ruby said. Yang’s hands fell into her lap, controller forgotten on the bed beside her. After so long keeping this in, she didn’t have the energy to do so any longer.

“I’m realizing I’ve had a crush on someone for a while and it’s making my life very complicated,” Yang said. She felt like puking after every word, especially as Ruby’s jaw dropped.

“Holy crap, have you fallen out of love with Blake, my sister-in-law? I will literally kill you if you say yes.” Yang spluttered indignantly. Of all the responses she was expecting, this didn’t even make the list.

“Yo, what the fuck? You’re supposed to be  _ my _ sister.”

“Yes, and I may or may not disown you depending on how you answer my question.” Yang’s lip stung from the intensity of her worrying it. She stared at her hands, picking at a hangnail on her thumb as she tried to think of the best way to continue this conversation. Already, she knew she revealed too much for Ruby to stay in the dark for long. She was too good a sleuth. It would just be a matter of revealing things on her own terms, at this point.

“Blake and I aren’t actually together,” Yang said, bracing herself for the explosion that was sure to happen.

“ _ What _ ?” Her ears rung from the pitch of Ruby’s voice. Ruby rose halfway out of her seat, hands balling into fists like she was about to try and beat the truth out of Yang.

“Calm down before you summon your roommates! Let me explain,” Yang begged. She sat upright and scooched to the edge of the bed, guiding a stunned Ruby back into her seat.

“You better have a good explanation or I’ll call Weiss and Penny in here to yell at you, too.” Resisting the urge to roll her eyes at the thought of Penny trying to say a single nasty word was almost as difficult as resisting the shudder at the thought of bearing the brunt of Weiss’s fury. Yang took a deep breath in preparation of coming clean.

“Back in our freshman yeah, Blake took me to an event as her plus one and people made...assumptions about that. We didn’t correct them because it was a good excuse to turn down this asshole who was trying to ask Blake out and also I didn’t want to get kicked out of the event,” Yang said, nearly falling over her words in her rush to get them out.

Now she was explaining it aloud to a third party, their plan sounded utterly ridiculous. The look on Ruby’s face did not give her confidence. She set her jaw, needing to explain further. 

“Things were just kind of more convenient that way. We got free stuff and an automatic reason to follow each other around at mandatory department gatherings. Trust me when I say those things are a lot more fun when you can make fun of people you hate with your best friend.”

Ruby was quiet for a long time. Yang’s skin itched as the tension in the room built to a breaking point, and still the silence stretched. Then, Ruby’s face went bright red.

“I cannot  _ believe _ you lied to everyone for two and a half years,” she exclaimed. She kept opening and closing her mouth while staring at something over Yang’s right shoulder, unable to make eye contact with her. “What do you even get out of doing something like that?”

“Well, Blake doesn’t want to date anyone at all, and having me around makes it easier to get people off her back about it. And I’m not really built for long term relationships anyway, so if this was the closest I could get to something real, I’m ok with that. Plus after a certain point, staging a break up would have been way more effort than it was worth,” Yang said, flopping back down on the bed. Her limbs felt strangely heavy as if she’d just run across campus rather than confess her elaborate con to her sister.

“But you actually like her, though?” Ruby asked. Yang’s silence was answer enough. “Hang on a minute!” She leaped onto the bed with Yang, grabbing her by the shoulders. “What was all that crap about you not being cut out for long term relationships?” 

Yang’s face burned and she sat up abruptly, pushing Ruby off of her. She hadn’t meant to share that particular part of her psyche, but it just spilled out along with the rest of her confession.

“Yes, I do like Blake and wish what we had was real.” The words felt like acid coming out, but saying them unlocked some of the chains keeping her heart imprisoned. It was the first time she admitted it out loud, though not to the one person she wanted to say it to. “But at this point that will probably never happen.”

“Because you don’t think you’re worthy of love?” Ruby asked.

“Oh my god, prying much?” Yang cried, leaning away from her. She still felt the pressure to explain coming off her, tearing down the barriers Yang was frantically trying to put up far too late into this conversation. “You know what happened with Raven, how she nearly tore our family apart.”

It was as though confessing one thing unblocked all of the secrets Yang was keeping, even the ones so suppressed even she didn’t know they existed. As soon as the words were out, she wanted to snatch them back, shove them down her throat until she choked on them.

“You aren’t her, though,” Ruby said, leaning her head against Yang’s shoulder in an attempt to lend comfort. Yang was so tightly wound she had to consciously try not to flinch. “I see a lot of Dad in you, too.”

“Dad handled everything almost as poorly as Raven did,” Yang pointed out.

“Well, you’re not them. You’re your own person, Yang. You deserve to be happy. And you seem happy with Blake.” Ruby’s words reached deep into Yang’s chest to the recently vacated place where she kept her secrets, cracking her open in a hundred different painful and much-needed ways. Her throat tightened and she trembled to the core as she dared to think of the way things could be if she wasn’t scared of them. If Blake so happened to feel the same way.

“I am happy with her,” Yang whispered. “Which is why I couldn’t bear it if anything changed.”

That was really the crux of it. The pain of belonging to Blake in such a limited way paled in comparison to the pain of not having her at all.

Ruby let the silence stretch on for a long time before speaking up again. “Well, I’m very interested in your happiness. I’ll do some work.”

“You most definitely will not,” Yang cried, elbowing Ruby sharply in the ribs. Ruby gasped as she lost her wind from the blow.

“Arg! Ok, I will behave normally,” she said, rubbing her side where Yang hit her. The way she eyed Yang was far from normal. It was like Yang was a vulnerable kitten Ruby wanted desperately to scoop up and help.

“You're already not,” Yang said. “Please let me come to terms with this on my own. Now that it’s out there I can’t think of a way to keep this from her for long. Just don’t tell anyone else.”

“I won’t. You can trust me,” Ruby said, sounding fully sincere for once. “I hope you decide to tell her. Maybe if you shook off some of your fear you’d realize that this isn’t as impossible as you think it is.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean, you both fooled literally all your closest friends into thinking that you’re dating without a) telling us and b) actually dating. If Blake doesn’t at least feel a little bit the same, then she’s more delirious than I gave her credit for.”

“Duly noted,” Yang said. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the clock on Ruby’s nightstand flash one o’clock. “It’s getting late. I’m going to leave now because I can’t take the chance of you discovering any more of my secrets tonight.”

“If you kept any more secrets of this caliber from me I’d hang up my deerstalker,” Ruby said solemnly.

“You have a deerstalker?” Yang asked. Instead of answering, Ruby threw her arms around Yang in a bearhug.

“Text me when Blake returns your feelings. I know she will,” Ruby said. 

Yang pulled her close, hoping to absorb some of her confidence. It was all well and good for Ruby to have faith, but she didn’t even know they were lying in the first place. There was always the chance that Blake was just that good at deceiving everyone. Yang clung to the hope that the clarity of an outside perspective was enough for Ruby to be right about everything.

* * *

By the time Yang made it home, there was no noise coming from her apartment, no cars she didn’t recognize parked in the street. She tried to make as little noise as possible when unlocking the front door, to not get any hopes up when she saw Blake left the kitchen light on for her. She kicked her shoes off, hit the light switch, and padded to her room. Blake’s door was shut and there was no light coming from under it. Tonight was not the night for any dramatic confessions.

Yang changed into her pajamas and slid under the covers. Not quite ready to close her eyes, she turned on her scroll. The moment she did, a low battery warning flashed across the screen. Yang groaned and pawed around on her bedside table looking for her charger. She froze the moment she remembered it was across the hall in Blake’s room.

She warred with herself on whether or not it was worth sneaking over to get it while she was still raw from her conversation with Ruby. Blake was probably asleep. They wouldn’t have to exchange a word. But on the off chance they did, would Yang be able to handle it without having a meltdown? Her eyes caught on her battery percentage. It was enough to make up her mind. This was a quick in and out mission, nothing more.

So what if she had to galvanize herself for nearly ten minutes before she worked up the courage to open Blake’s door.

With her eyes adjusted to the darkness, Yang poked her head into the room. Blake was curled up on her side with her back to the door. Yang watched for a moment to make sure her breathing was even before squeezing through the doorway. She had to stop right there, worried that the pounding of her heart was loud enough to rouse Blake. Luckily, she seemed to be fast asleep.

Yang knew Blake’s room as well as her own. She crept silently through it, having no problem navigating to her bedside table. Feeling along the wall, her fingers brushed against the edge of the outlet, then her charger. She sighed with relief. This was easier than she thought it’d be.

Her success only lasted until she unplugged the charger. Blake’s scroll lit up on her nightstand in response to the charge being cut off. She unplugged the wrong charger. Yang winced and held her breath, hoping it wasn’t enough to disturb Blake. She sighed with defeat as Blake let out a tiny whine.

“Yang?” Blake mumbled. “That you?”

“Go back to sleep, I’m sorry,” Yang whispered, every muscle in her body tight with panic. “I’m just getting my charger. My scroll is dead.” Blake shifted, turning over to face Yang. Her half-open eyes glowed in the faint light of the room coming from her scroll.

“Just plug it in and lay down,” she grumbled, extricating one hand from her blankets and grabbing onto the hem of Yang’s shirt. “It’s cold.”

“You’re weird,” Yang said, barely able to manage a response. There was no way of telling what Blake was thinking, inviting Yang into her bed. Not when she was half asleep and delirious. She’d let go in a minute or two. But her grip did not loosen. With her heart in her throat making it difficult to breathe, Yang allowed herself to be pulled into bed next to Blake, who scooched over to give her room.

Yang distracted herself from their proximity by making sure their scrolls were charging. Her talk with Ruby was far too fresh for this circumstance to be at all fair. She nearly stopped breathing when Blake’s arm went around her waist to spread the blanket over her.

“How was Ruby’s?” Blake asked, the hint of a yawn present in her voice. While Yang felt bad for waking her up, there was a thrill in her stomach that Blake would put in the effort of asking about her evening. 

“Fine,” she said, trying not to think of exactly what she and Ruby talked about. She hoped Blake was too exhausted to read into it. “How was studying?”

“Horrible, but productive. I’m going to sleep.” With that, Blake snuggled down into her blankets. Very soon, her breathing evened out again. With her arm still around her waist, Yang didn’t think she’d be following any time soon.

Still, she closed her eyes and tried to calm her heart rate to an acceptable level. One that didn’t cause a localized earthquake in their apartment. Blake was just so close, so warm. Yang resigned herself to not getting very much sleep tonight.

* * *

“And you’re sure you’ll be up for hosting game night tonight?” Yang said into her scroll, tucking it between her cheek and her shoulder as she finished putting the last of the cups from the dishwasher into the cabinet. Half of them would likely be dirty again by tomorrow, but she resigned herself to that when she hit the cleaning cycle on the dishwasher. “What with your six to nine tonight?”

“I’ll be ok,” Blake said from the other end of the call, “I’m going to take a nap in the library. That’ll help a lot. Are you going to be ok setting up by yourself?”

“Our friends would kill us if we canceled the last game night before Thanksgiving Break. As long as you clean up tomorrow, I don’t mind setting up at all,” Yang said. She leaned against the counter and grabbed her scroll with her hand, waiting until the call ended to put away the silverware. That would make too much noise to have a conversation.

“Sounds like a deal. Hopefully, my class will end early so I won’t miss too much,” Blake said. In the background from her side of the call, Yang heard the distinctive chime that accompanied the library doors opening.

“I’ll let you go, then. Get some rest, babe,” Yang said. She slapped her hand over her mouth, too late to stop the pet name from slipping out. Even as Blake hung up, Yang stood frozen with her scroll pressed to her cheek.

Ever since her talk with Ruby at the end of last semester dragged Yang’s crush into the light of day, she struggled big time to hide it. She had so many slip-ups in the immediate aftermath it was a wonder Blake didn’t call her out then. Though it didn’t get any less stressful for Yang, a summer spent mostly apart made her feelings all but impossible to confess. And with the stress of school starting up again for their second to last semester, no opportunity made itself apparent. Yang remained in a constant state of limbo, and if it hadn’t already been months she’d think it would be any day that Blake noticed something was up.

Unfortunately, pretending to be in a relationship actually sabotaged Yang’s attempts to make things between them real. She’d tried, oh had she tried, but it was difficult to say “I love you” and have the actual meaning come across when there was another explanation for her to be saying it.

Unfreezing herself took more effort than it should have. Yang stared at the open dishwasher for far too long before shaking herself into action. Doing her best to ignore what was in her head, she finished putting away the dishes before looking over the rest of the apartment. Nothing was too dirty, but Yang could use the distraction of cleaning. Anything not to be consumed by her own longing.

A knock at the door some hours later pulled Yang out of her trance, and she paused while holding a pillow. Setting it back on the couch and smoothing her expression to reveal none of her inner turmoil, she went to answer the door.

“Oh, hey guys. You’re a little early,” Yang said, greeting Ruby and Weiss standing on her doorstep. It was barely seven forty-five.

“Reinforcements have arrived!” Ruby declared, pushing past Yang. “And we come bearing offerings.” She set a bulging plastic bag on the counter before shrugging off her coat.

“Penny couldn’t make it tonight,” Weiss said as Yang let her inside. She loosened her scarf as Yang shut the door on the cold trying to seep into the warm apartment. “She left on break early to spend more time with her dad.”

Yang nodded at the explanation. “What do you mean by reinforcements?”

“Blake sent us to help you get ready for game night. Your place isn’t as much of a dumpster fire as she led us to believe,” Ruby said, emptying her bag. She set a two-liter and a few bags of chips on the counter and waved her hands over the spoils. 

“I’ve been cleaning,” Yang said. “Contrary to popular belief, I do know how to do that.”

“Why do you bother with Jaune coming over. You know he’s just going to spill or break something,” Weiss said. With Ruby taking care of their snacks, Weiss made her way to the couch. 

“You’re underestimating the rest of our friends. Remember the food fight of winter ‘18? That was a disaster,” Ruby said, eyes glazed over as memories overtook her. With the snacks set up to her standards, Ruby abandoned Yang in the kitchen. As she passed through the open doorway from the kitchen, she jumped up to hit the bit of wall above her. Yang rolled her eyes at her sister’s weirdness as Ruby flopped down next to Weiss and kicked up her feet to rest on the table in front of them. 

“An amazing, hilarious disaster.” Yang nodded in agreement, also immersed in her memories of the event. As unhelpful as Ruby and Weiss were, she had to admit she enjoyed their company. It was nice to get out of her own head for once. Game nights were a great way to unwind and not have to think too hard about any feelings.

“Speaking of disasters, have you made a move on Blake yet?” Ruby asked. The smile dropped from Yang’s face so fast she got a cramp in her jaw. Oh, how quickly this backfired.

“Not in front of Weiss,” Yang hissed, struggling to wrangle the words into comprehensible order. Her nails dug into her palm, the fire of pain blending in with the rest of her superheated skin. She couldn’t believe Ruby would be this careless about her secret.

“I already know, dolt. Ruby told me,” Weiss said, casually examining her fingernails. “It was very entertaining to hear about how two of my best friends lied to me for years.” She sent a pointed look over at Yang.

“You are officially the worst sister ever,” Yang grumbled, ignoring Weiss’s glare.

“And once again you are avoiding my question,” Ruby said, crossing her arms. Yang wanted to smack the smug little smile off her face.

“It’s not as easy as you make it out to be,” she said, hating how whiney she sounded.

“Literally all you have to say is “Hey Blake, I like you and I want to actually date you instead of pretending.” It’s that easy,” Ruby said.

“You should probably do it soon,” Weiss said. “Otherwise, it might not come out in a way you want it to. Secrets have a way of doing that.”

“They sure do,” Yang muttered under her breath. In hindsight, it was probably a miracle Ruby lasted this long without telling anyone. But at this rate, all of their friends would know about Yang’s true feelings before Blake did.

The jangle of keys outside the door cut off anything else Yang might have said. She whipped her head around, gaze catching on the oven clock. It was a few minutes past eight. The door opened for Blake, who had the rest of their friends on her heels.

“You’re home early,” Yang said, heading toward the entryway to greet them.

“I was right. Professor Oobleck did  _ not _ want to go the full three hours right before the break,” Blake said. “I picked up some strays on the way home.”

“And we brought booze,” Jaune said, hoisting a bottle of peppermint schnapps in each hand. He squeezed past Blake and immediately went for the cups Yang finished putting away only hours before. Now he was of age, he had no shame about where he got his alcohol from. Before, though, he nearly had a meltdown when Ruby deduced he didn’t actually have a fake id but rather had his older sister buy for him. Jaune refused to be their bartender for a month after they found out, even though Yang and Nora insisted it was cute he was so close to his sister.

“Don’t forget about the games,” Nora said, clutching a Risk box so intensely Yang feared it would collapse in her grip. “Who is ready to go  _ down _ ?”

“We’ve got to stop letting Nora decide what games we play,” Yang said to Blake as they held back, letting their friends filter one by one into the living room ahead of them. It was both excruciating and comforting to have her so close. They just saw each other this morning, but Yang already found herself longing for her company. 

“Let her have her fun,” Blake said. “Once she gets what she wants, we can play an actual game.” They all knew whatever game Nora suggested would eventually devolve into chaos when she inevitably came up with crazy rules that benefited only her.

“Are you ready to join the fray?” Yang asked, trying not to watch Blake too intensely. She hadn’t had anything to drink yet and therefore had no excuse for staring.

“As long as you’re there to back me up,” Blake said. She made for the living room with Yang hot on her heels.

“Ah, would you look at that!” Ruby cried as they passed through the doorway. Yang froze. She had her mischief face on, a terrible grin that struck fear into Yang’s heart, though she did her best to hide it. Ruby’s gaze flicked upward to something above Yang’s head. “Tis the season, apparently.”

Yang followed her gaze, stomach sinking like a rock when she noticed the green bouquet tied with a red ribbon pinned to the wall above her and Blake. She struggled to keep her face neutral as she recognized it as mistletoe.

“Seriously, Ruby? It’s not even Thanksgiving yet,” Blake complained. Yang couldn’t bring herself to lower her gaze and see what her expression was like.

“Christmas starts on November first, everybody knows this,” Jaune chirped unhelpfully from the kitchen. “We are all beholden to our reindeer overlords.”

“That was only the weirdest possible way you could have said that,” Ren drawled. Out of the corner of her eye, Yang could see his attention was mostly on her and Blake, a tiny smirk on his face. He was probably remembering when she and Jaune locked him in a closet with Nora this time last year and didn’t let them out until they had a conversation about their feelings. If she didn’t know any better, she would say Ren had a hand in this plot.

“You look like a deer in headlights, Yang,” Nora said. Realizing that keeping her face upturned was doing nothing to hide the blush across her cheeks, Yang lowered her gaze from the mistletoe. She instantly made eye contact with Blake, which only made her face get ten times hotter.

“You are all very mature people,” Blake said, not sparing their friends a glance. Her eyes were locked on Yang, freezing her in place. Yang’s mind worked like jello, trying to figure out a way out of this.

Blake took action before she could come up with anything. Her hand came up to cradle Yang’s cheek and she raised herself onto her tiptoes to bring their lips together. It was like all the air was sucked out of the room. Yang immediately grabbed Blake’s wrist, skin meeting superheated skin as her eyes sliding shut. All she did was follow Blake’s lead for a few glorious seconds. The wolf whistles from their friends faded into nothing, as Yang could only focus on Blake.

The kiss was over far too soon, and time caught up with Yang again when cold air rushed in where Blake had just been. Blake stepped away, bearing the jokes and whistles from their friends while Yang stood dumb in the doorway. Her lips were still parted and she didn’t process a single word any of their friends were saying. She only saw Blake throw her head back with laughter.

“Are you ok?” Jaune asked, appearing beside her suddenly and rudely pulling Yang from orbit. She bit her tongue, trying to hold in a strangled gasp and quickly stepped away from him.

“Don’t you try to get under the mistletoe with me,” she threatened.

“Oh please, I wouldn’t dare encroach on Blake’s territory,” Jaune said, rolling his eyes. “You look like you need this.” He deposited a drink that smelled strongly of peppermint into Yang’s hand. It took all her willpower not to down it all right then.

“Yang, don’t just stand there,” Nora called. “We’re picking colors, and I’ve got my eye on yellow this time.”

“No way,” Yang said, hurrying to the couch. “Don’t you fucking touch my color, or I’ll target you first.” Her mouth was still numb from the kiss, making it difficult to form words. She hardly dared to look at Blake, fearing that the look on her face would give everything away. 

It was just one little kiss. It wasn’t even their first. Yang shouldn’t have let it rattle her this much. She just couldn’t work through the fog in her mind fast enough. In trying to help, Ruby’s plan only backfired. Yang’s chances of victory tonight were going to be very slim, both in terms of the games and talking to Blake. That wouldn’t go well at all if she was this rattled. There had to be a better time. There had to be.

* * *

There was no better time to talk to sit down and have a conversation with Blake. With time ticking down before they left for Thanksgiving Break, Yang couldn’t help but feel that it would be better to save it until after they came back. In the meantime, she just had to keep herself occupied at every waking moment so she wasn’t tempted to change her mind.

A few days after their game night, Yang was stretched out in bed playing a game on her scroll when there was a quiet knock on her door. Her thumb froze against the attack button and a spray of bullets shot from her character.

“Hello?” She called, trying to keep her voice even and not give away that her heart jumped into her throat.

“Can I come in?” Blake asked from the other side of the door. Yang immediately put down her scroll.

“Of course.” The handle turned and the door opened. Blake slipped into the room, and it immediately felt smaller with her in it. Yang worried she would be able to see her pulse, it was hammering so hard. “What’s up?”

Blake didn’t answer right away. She made her way to Yang’s desk and lowered herself into the chair. She pulled her scroll out of her pocket and set it on an empty corner of the desk, spending far too long lining it up with the exact edge as she tried to organize her thoughts.

“So. I got kind of an intense voicemail from Ruby,” she said at last.

“Oh no.” The blood drained from Yang’s face and the hair stood up on the back of her neck. She knew Ruby was fed up with her bullshit, but she couldn’t have broken her trust by spilling everything. The intense need to run from what was certain doom nearly overtook her, and only because there was no escape did she stay put.

“She said you needed to talk to me about something. And from your reaction, I think she might be right,” Blake said. Yang hung her head, defeated. Her nerves were so frayed she couldn’t play this off if she tried.

Making a mental note to strangle Ruby next time she saw her, Yang threw her legs over the edge of her bed and stood up.

“Can we go for a walk?” She asked. Now that she was cornered, she at least wanted to have this conversation in a place where she could take a full breath without choking on it.

Blake didn’t say a word as they collected their coats and locked the apartment behind them. She fell into step with Yang, letting her lead a winding route across campus. Yang was never more grateful for their silent compatibility. She needed the time to get her thoughts in order, present her case in the best possible light. And that meant steering them clear of anywhere they might run into people.

Almost without planning it, Yang ended up leading them to the river on the east side of campus, nearly the same exact spot where they met all that time ago for the fateful pre-law party where this all began. 

Yang rested her elbows against the railing, facing the dark water. Ice had begun to form at its edges, but the current was too swift for it to freeze all the way over. Sometime during their walk, it started snowing gently. Out of the corner of her eye Yang saw tiny white flakes standing out against Blake’s dark hair. Still, she couldn’t bring herself to speak, not even as the cold from the metal railing started to seep through the arms of her jacket.

“What’s going on, Yang?” Blake asked, gently prompting her to explain. Yang stalled long enough.

Yang exhaled, forming a large cloud in front of her face. It was like Blake cut through the rubber band holding back her words.

“How long has it been?” Yang responded to a question with another question. Blake’s eyebrows knitted together. “Since we first started this whole act?”

“A little over three years,” Blake said. She glanced up and down the empty walkway. “This is where it started, wasn’t it? The night of the meet and greet.”

“Yeah.” Yang cleared her throat, still wondering how she could possibly explain herself. “We work so well together, even then when we barely knew each other. After all these years, no one’s even come close to figuring out it’s always been fake.”

“What are you trying to say, Yang?” Blake asked, her mouth turned down ever so slightly.

“I’m saying that we’ve been doing the fake dating thing for a while. Would it be so bad if we dropped the fake part and just...dated?” Yang said, words tumbling out breathlessly. Blake’s mouth formed a small ‘o’ and Yang saw in her eyes how she worked through what she was saying. Before the panic could take over all that much, Yang reached out and grabbed Blake’s hand, lacing their fingers together in an attempt to ground her.

“Don’t you want what everyone thinks we have? I know I do. I have for a while, and I can’t keep it in any longer.”

“Yang,” Blake breathedI know where you’re coming from. I feel it too.” Yang’s knees felt like they were going to give out at the confession. Ruby was right all along. Never before had she been so excited to think those words. She nearly blacked out for a solid moment before Blake squeezed her fingers tightly. “But it’s not that simple.”

“What are you afraid of?” Yang asked. She had too much momentum to stop now, and she feared if she didn’t push her Blake would close up for good, and any chance they had would be ruined.

“What if everything changes? I don’t want us to crash and burn just because we threw a wrench into something that was already good,” Blake said. Her lower lip trembled, and she was all but squeezing the life out of Yang’s hand. She held Yang’s gaze waveringly, like she was about to drop it at any moment. 

“Well that’s the great thing,” Yang said. “We can do even that together.” Blake’s eyes fell, finally too overwhelmed to keep looking into Yang’s. They landed on Yang’s clavicle instead. Her breath was shallow, barely exhaling enough to form mist as her thoughts ran wild across her face. Yang could read every twitch of expression she made, though she could not predict where Blake would land.

“I trust you,” Blake said eventually. “You’re my best friend, and I trust you.”

Yang let out a shaky exhale, all her words stolen by the gravity of the moment. In their small little bubble, shaking hands gripping each other tightly, their world was stock still. Now she was here, with all her cards on the table, the one thing she’d been dying to do for so long seemed impossible. There was nothing more she could think to say, nothing more she needed to say.

Breaking through the ice that froze her bones, Yang brought her free hand to Blake’s chin and tilted her head up so she could kiss her. Blake let out a tiny squeak of surprise, remaining stock still for a brief moment before she finally kissed Yang back.

They’d kissed before, too many times for Yang to count. But even the best of those had always been a performance. This was different as Yang tried to convey all the words she couldn’t spit out through the press of her lips against Blake’s. Everything was out in the open. There were no more doors to hide behind, nothing to hold her back from pulling Blake tightly against her and kissing her senseless. Blake’s arms went around Yang’s neck, holding her just as close.

Running out of breath seemed inconsequential, but eventually Yang’s knees couldn’t take it any longer. Though she loathed to do it, she broke the kiss and leaned her forehead against Blake’s, shoulders rising and falling heavily.

“I love you,” she panted, words tumbling out without the expectation or need for a response. Yang knew what was in her heart, and she had to give voice to it before it burst. She felt a light fluttering against her cheek, realizing after a moment that it was Blake’s eyes opening. Yang was afraid she’d break the spell that had fallen over them if she opened her’s, so the only hint she had that Blake was about to speak was the faint rush of air as she exhaled.

“I love you too,” Blake said. And for the first time in a long time, Yang didn’t have to worry what she meant by it.


End file.
